Conventional construction of a building is generally performed according to well-known processes. Near the beginning of the construction project, excavation equipment prepares a foundation at a job site. Once the foundation is laid, building materials are brought to the job site, such as wood, metal, cement, and other various building materials. Once the raw materials arrive at the job site, construction workers begin the process of erecting a frame at the job site. For example, when a house is constructed, construction workers generally erect wooden framing for the house. After the frame is completed, construction workers fasten sheathing, such as plywood, that covers the outside of the frame using mechanical fasteners, such as nails or screws. After the sheathing has been fastened to the frame, the frames are raised into place to become walls. The walls later receive electrical and plumbing appliances, insulation, and drywall.
The conventional construction method of building walls and wall panels requires a great deal of construction work on the job site. The construction workers must assemble a wall frame, attach sheathing, alter the frame to accommodate electrical and plumbing appliances, and many other steps all at the job site. If the weather is rainy or snowy, construction workers may be unable to build the walls and framing during that time, thereby losing construction time. So, a method of preparing wall panels before construction begins at the job site accelerates the time to construct a building at the job site.
Some companies prepare structural panels in a factory and transport fully assembled structural panels to the construction site where the fully assembled structural panels are raised to form a wall for the building. Some of these factory prepared structural panels are insulated.
Conventional structural insulated panels require top and bottom panels to be integrated or incorporated into the panel. This structure requires an additional step during field installation. Typically, a bottom track must first be installed, a structural insulated wall panel inserted into the bottom track, installing the top track, and fastening the structural insulated wall panel with stud members. This requires a signification amount of time and manpower, as well as slowing down the building process when using structural insulated panels. So, a structural insulated panel that overcomes the problems discussed above is desired.